Causes of Adolescent Deviant Behavior

Deviance involves breaking a norm. If you were the only male in a college classroom full of women, you probably wouldn’t be considered deviant. However, if a man were to use the woman’s restroom, we would regard him as deviant. That is because deviance is not merely departure from the statistical average. It implies violating an accepted rule of behavior. Many deviant acts go unnoticed or are considered so trivial they warrant no punishment. However, people who are observed committing more serious acts of deviance are typically punished, either informally or formally (Brym, Lie 2003: 145).
Informal punishment is mild. It may involve raised eyebrows, gossip, ostracism, shaming, or stigmatization. When people are stigmatized, they are negatively evaluated because of a marker that distinguishes them from others (Brym, Lie 2003:145). Formal punishment results from people breaking laws, which are norms stipulated and enforced by government bodies. For example, criminals may be fo...